What is AIDS?

What is AIDS?

• A. A condition in which our immune system has been so badly damaged by HIV that it can no longer deal with other infections or cancers
• B. A viral skin disease
• C. A type of bacterial infection
• D. A rare genetic disorder

Answer: (A)

AIDS is the advanced stage of HIV infection, where the virus has damaged the immune system so severely that it can no longer effectively defend the body against other infections or cancers. HIV targets CD4 T cells, and when their numbers fall to a critically low level or when certain illnesses appear, AIDS is diagnosed. This description directly captures what AIDS represents: a breakdown of immune protection because of HIV. The other options describe conditions that aren’t about the immune system being overwhelmed by HIV—such as a skin disease, a bacterial infection, or a genetic disorder.

AIDS is the advanced stage of HIV infection, where the virus has damaged the immune system so severely that it can no longer effectively defend the body against other infections or cancers. HIV targets CD4 T cells, and when their numbers fall to a critically low level or when certain illnesses appear, AIDS is diagnosed. This description directly captures what AIDS represents: a breakdown of immune protection because of HIV. The other options describe conditions that aren’t about the immune system being overwhelmed by HIV—such as a skin disease, a bacterial infection, or a genetic disorder.